If We Lived Here Read Online Free PDF

dealt with this issue before with her students from Riverdale; she knew that Mr. Trundle didn’t believe in grade inflation, and—arguably a graver crime for her clients—didn’t tolerate overinvolved parents.
    “I’m sure he’s a fine teacher,” Mrs. Goldstein continued, “but I’ve heard rumors about suspect comments he’s made regarding the Israel-Palestine situation. And this class covers World War II, you know, the Holocaust ”—this last part she whispered—“so I wouldn’t want to put Isaac in any uncomfortable situations. . . .” She trailed off, and Emma rolled her eyes. There was no way Riverdale would hire an anti-Semite to its faculty, as Mrs. Goldstein seemed to be insinuating, but these parents always had to feel justified in their special requests.
    “I hear you,” Emma said. “Let me put a call into the school. Mr. Trundle tends to teach A.P. in the afternoons, and I’ve had luck in the past suggesting that a student’s right-brain processing is keener in the morning.”
    “Emma Feit, you’re a star. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
    Without me, you’d have a kid who’d know what it was like to get a B, a kid who’d have an easier time dealing with real life someday when he won’t just be able to hire someone to make all his problems go away. Emma didn’t say this, of course, especially since she knew she was part of the problem. But she also knew that some of these kids would in fact grow up to live in a world where they could keep hiring someone to disappear their problems; so, she figured, why not take advantage for a cut of the profits? Anyway, that’s what Emma told herself when she was up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night debating the ethics of her job and questioning her long-ago flight from academia. (At other times, Emma found these twinges of guilt reassuring—they would make it easier one day when she’d decide to flee this job, as she inevitably would when some shiny new opportunity presented itself.)
    As soon as Emma got rid of Mrs. Goldstein, her phone rang again. This time she checked the caller ID: Annie.
    “So Eli’s staying at his parents’ place. They said they want to bond with him as a single man for the last time. Lame-slash-sweet, right? Ems, will you please come sleep over at my place? I’m freaking out and don’t want to be alone tonight.”
    “Well, Nick is down here at my apartment.”
    “Tell Nick he can get a six-pack and an on-demand movie, my treat. Or leave him your Facebook password so he can cybersnoop. Come on, please?”
    Nick was furiously shaking his head. Emma turned away. “All right, fine. I’ll be over there soon.”
    She hung up, and Nick groaned. “If that girl asked you to hide the body of someone she just murdered, you’d start clearing out your closet.”
    “If it was three days before her wedding, yeah, I probably would. But guess what? She’d do the same for me.”
    “I should’ve brought Mensa over to keep me company. He could watch me play video games and then we’d cuddle together under your covers.”
    “Gross.” Emma shuddered at the thought.
    “The little guy would be so cozy, curled up on your pillow.” Nick contorted his facial features into a surprisingly realistic depiction of a gerbil, and Emma pelted a plastic fork at him. “Nice, Em. I actually think I’ll head home. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
     
    When Annie swung open the door, the fact that her face was covered in blue goop didn’t stop her from leaning in to kiss Emma hello. She was wearing oversized shorts (probably Eli’s) and a sports bra, and her hair was twisted up into a shower cap.
    “Why does it reek of mayonnaise in here?” Emma asked. “I thought you’d sworn off fat all month.”
    “To eat, yes. That’s my hair mask. It’s for shine and luster, and condiments are cheaper than the spa stuff.”
    “Yuck.”
    “I have ten minutes left of my Insanity workout. Come and squat with me.”
    “No way,